


Saving You, Saving Me

by Natasha09



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bisexual Tony Stark, Hurt Tony Stark, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Parent Steve Rogers, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Steve Rogers, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Steve Rogers Feels, Sugar Daddy Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, War Veteran Bucky Barnes, War Veteran Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-08-07 01:19:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16398677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natasha09/pseuds/Natasha09
Summary: Me Before You AUSteve Rogers is a twenty six year old war veteran raising his nephew Peter Parker alone and is struggling to make ends meet. So when he is offered a job working for billionaire Tony Stark who has recently been rescued from captivity in Afghanistan with peripheral neuropathy, he takes it.He knew he needed it, but working for Stark made him miserable, and if that wasn't enough, everything just had to go to hell.Canon Divergence from Iron Man.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, thank you for coming to read this. This is the first time I've ever written a Marvel fanfic, so please let me know if there are any discrepancies or if the characters are not well, in character. Do let me know what you think.

“5.95”

“There you go ma’am, thank you.” Steve picked up the grocery bag off the counter and made his way towards the exit of the store. He barely held a sigh in as he walked towards his Ford that was parked down the street from the grocery store.

At this rate, he was going to have to cut off the radiator at his house just to be able to afford food, rent and Peter’s school. Peter who hadn’t even told him about the field trip his class was taking in two weeks because of the fee it included. That was the part he hated the most. Although he was a mature for his age, he was still a child who was acting like an adult more and more everyday. He never asked Steve for anything. He never commented if Steve just served him his own portion of lunch for dinner, although he always was unusually full early those nights.

Reaching his car, he opened the back door to put the bag and then got into the driver seat and after three attempts shut the door properly. Steve hoped it wasn’t acting up again, he was tired of asking Bucky to fix it and the other man not taking any money. He let out a sigh of relief when it smoothly got out of the parking lot. Well, it was ten years old, smooth was an overstatement.

He remembered when he heard his sister and her husband had died in a plane crash, he’d been told that since Richard’s bother and sister in law had already passed away, he was to get custody of Peter. It was the first, and only time in his life he regretted joining the army. If he had gone to art school and had a steady job as teacher somewhere, maybe life would be able to provide for Peter better.

Realising he’d already gotten home, he shook his head to clear it and walked up to his apartment. An automatic smile spread across his face as he heard the sounds of Bucky and Sam teasing Peter. He opened the door and let himself in.

“Alright, that’s enough you two, you’ve teased Peter enough for this week.”

“Oh alright.” Bucky said as he stopped tickling the eight year old boy sitting between him and Sam on the couch.

“Oh come on Steve, we just started tickling the squirt right now.” He heard Sam say as he made wide eyes at Peter, who, being used to this behaviour by now, stuck his tongue out at Sam.

“Yes, I’m sure you did, like I’m sure you’ve been teasing him all day.”

“Well, it is Sunday Stevie, teasing Peter is what we do on Sundays.”

“Mhmm...like feeding him ice cream, no doubt.” He said fixing Bucky with a stern look, that Peter called The Look, as he unloaded the grocery.

“You going to go the store again during the week Stevie?” Bucky asked as he walked into the kitchen, which was practically in the living room. “You have to, y’know, you’d become hypoglycaemic during the training sessions otherwise.”

“Sure.”

  
Bucky stared at him. 

“I will.”  
  
Bucky continued staring at him. Steve sighed.  
  
“Look, I’ll figure something out.”  
  
“Ah huh.”  
  
“I’ll take care of it.”

“Riiight.....” Bucky drew the word out as he always did. “And what exactly you planning to do? Another job?” He already had two jobs, as a gym trainer and in a cafe.

“I have to Buck, I have no other option.”  
  
“You could always just ask me and Sam for help.”

“You both already do so much.” It was true, Sam and Bucky looked after Peter every evening and all day on the weekends.

At the beginning it had only been Saturday’s, but three months after Peter had moved in and Steve realised working ten hours during the week wasn’t going to be enough to make ends meet. So, Bucky and Sam volunteered (which meant that they backed Steve into a corner until he wholeheartedly agreed with them) and now it was the weekends as well.

“Not enough, if you’re skipping meals to feed the boy.” Steve felt his neck snap as he looked up at Bucky. “Peter told us, he’s worried you aren’t taking care of yourself.”

“Oh God, he isn’t supposed to worry about that.” There was silence for a moment filled in by the sounds of the credits to a Star Wars movie playing in the living room.

“Steve.”

“I don’t know what to do Buck.” Bucky had always been his sounding board, so being vulnerable in front of him was almost second nature.

“Police academy?”

“I’d have to go away for training, and I literally can’t afford it right now.”

“Art classes?”

“No time, plus it takes so much capital Buck.” He heard Sam’s ringtone filling the room before it was answered and Sam went to the small adjoining balcony as Peter stole some of his popcorn.

“What about the money Pete’s parents left him?”

“That’s his college fund, he’s...he’s so smart Buck, he can’t not go to college.”

“Okay, then take a loan off us.”  
  
“A third job.”  
  
“Steve, at this rate, you’re gonna work yourself to death.”

“Peter...” 

“Will be completely alone if you die, and will probably end up in the system.”

“Well then, I just don’t know what else I can do Buck.”

“A loan.”

“No, you and Sam may be struggling, but you’re not exactly comfortable either. Besides, I don’t wanna bankrupt you two.”

“Shut up.”

“Seriously, just how much do you earn as a martial arts instructor anyway.”

“More than you, punk.”

“Shut up jerk.” He looked at Bucky, wondering what he would’ve done without him his whole life. “I’m gonna make pasta with shrimp, that okay?”

“Yeah, but me and Sam ain’t sticking ‘round for dinner.”

“I’m not that poor.”  
  
“Yeah, you are.”  
  
“Go away jerk.”

“Try not to burn the food.” Steve shook his head but smiled nonetheless. “Hey, y’know, if nothing else works out, you can always get a sugar daddy.”

“Buck! Peter’s right there!” Sometimes, he really didn’t understand his friend. 

“Peter didn’t even turn around cause he’s too busy watching the movie.”

“Still, is this the kinda stuff you and Sam talk about around him? He’s a kid.”

“Well, someone has to spoil him, seeing as grandpa won’t do it.”

“Oh go away, let me make some food.”

“Uh huh, I remember that time you burnt water.”

“Bucky!”

“Alright, I’m gonna put a stop to this flirting now.” Sam said as he walked in from the balcony.

“We weren’t flirting.”

“Yeah, Stevie’s no longer skinny ass is nothing compared to yours, so chill.” Bucky said completely ignoring Steve.

“Yeah - wait what?” Steve said as they both walked to the couch to occupy the space on either side of Peter.

Steve just shook his head and smiled when he heard Peter’s excited chatter as he quoted all the dialogues in the movie. Sometimes, it was easy for Steve to forget that Peter wasn’t his son but his nephew, the boy was adorable and his excitement was infectious.

“Uncle Steve, get here.”

“Yeah, Pete as soon as dinner’s done.” He heard a set of footsteps running across the small space between the kitchen and the living room, till they stopped right next to him.

“Can I help?”  
  
“Peter.. I can do -“

“No, please let me help, I’ll wash the shrimp, and I can boil the pasta, please.” Peter was now bouncing on the balls of his foot as he occasionally glanced towards the tv and Sam and Bucky, who were pretending not to listen.

“You can watch the movie Pete, I’ll have the dinner ready, don’t you worry.”

“But, I can help, please”

Peter was an adorable kid, but ever since Steve had taken him in, he always acted grateful; apparently some kid Flash had scared him saying he’d have to go to a foster home. No matter what Steve did to assure him that it wasn’t going to happen, he still acted the same way.

“I know what it is squirt, you just don’t like the food I cook.” Steve said crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, that’s not true.”  
  
“You’d rather have something Sam cooked.”

“Of course he would.” A loud voice said boisterously as Sam barraged into the kitchen. “Even the squirt knows I’m a better cook.”

“Well, I’m definitely beginning to think that way, he doesn’t want to eat anything I cook anyway.”

“No, that’s not-“

“Well, it looks like Steve can’t feel the love kid.” Sam said.

“I-“

“Just go and sit, I’ll make a delicious dinner okay? I promise it’ll be as good as Sam’s.”

“Yeah, right. Let’s go.” Sam dragged Peter out of the room.

Dinner was basically all four of them sitting in front of the tv and eating pasta until Bucky brought out another bag of popcorn.

“You’re really going to spoil him like this, you know.” Steve said disapprovingly but didn’t stop Peter. But, “Peter slow down a bit okay, just because I know how to perform a Heimlich manoeuvre doesn’t mean I want to.”

“Sorry.” Peter said smiling showing teeth that had popcorn stuck. Steve barely contained a laugh and told him it was fine. Yes, he was nearing bankruptcy, no, he couldn’t go to art school and he was working all day, but having Peter and caring for him made it worth it. The kid was the best thing that ever happen to him.

At nine, he made Bucky shut off the tv and made Peter go to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

“Well, you’ve flirted with my boyfriend a lot.”

“I know you’re only joking-" 

“Yup, otherwise I wouldn’t tell you about the amazing job opportunity I just heard.”

“What job opportunity? Are you planning on leaving the air force?” Out of the three of them, Sam was the only one who still held his job in the military.

“Not an opportunity for me, but for you.” Steve looked up sharply from the dishes he was loading in the dishwasher while Bucky shook his head.

“No, he’ll drop out of exhaustion if he takes a third one.”  
  
“I won’t-“  
  
“Yeah, I know Soldier.”  
  
“Then why would you tell him?”

“He’s right here, y’know.” Steve said making sure he was audible above them.

“Cause he’ll have only one job.”  
  
“I can’t just survive on one job.”  
  
“With what it pays, you can.”  
  
“Unless they pay me as much as I earn now..”

“They will, in fact I’m sure they’ll pay double of that. You’ll have to negotiate yourself but I’m sure you can easily get it, then you won’t have to wear the same white t shirt everyday.” Steve snapped his mouth shut, that much money, he could even get Peter the microscope he had been eyeing last week for his birthday.

“What job is this?” Bucky asked incredulously. “If it requires a college degree...”

“No, it’s....have you heard about Tony Stark?” He asked Steve directly.

“Stark? The weapons developer who was kidnapped in Afghanistan for what, three months? Didn’t you help rescue him?”

“Yes, I was a part of the rescue team. He, uh, he was there for four months, kidnapped by a terrorist organisation. They tortured him to such an extent, he lost functionality of his right arm. He’s locked in his home since he got back, PTSD, won’t talk to anyone, wants to shut down weapons manufacturing. They need someone to stay with him.”

“Okay, but what does Steve have to do? Wipe his-“

“Bucky.....Peter.” Steve groaned. His best friend could get an award for his crass.

“No, he just has to spend time with the guy.”

“Just what kind of job is this Sam? That guy has a reputation.”

“He tried to hurt himself last week.”

“What!?” The response was almost simultaneous from Steve and Bucky.

“I don’t know all the details, but he lives alone. he’s apparently suicidal.When they realised this they decided to hire someone to keep an eye on him. They’ve had therapists at the same job but no one stays for more than a week, he drives them away. Apparently there’s some guy named Jarvis too, but all Steve has to do is talk to the guy a little, make sure he eats, doesn’t mix his medicines with alcohol and all that.”

“And how do you know this?”

“Colonel Rhodes, I know him from the air force, he’s Stark’s childhood friend, said he needs someone firm and strong who won’t take Stark’s shit. I told him Steve is ex-military who’s looking for a job and has experience helping me out at the VA. Uh, he was actually offering me the job, but I already have one.”

“Sam, you could’ve taken it, if it could pay that much.” Steve said.

“It’s not about the money, you know I like my job. You need the job.”

“Sam, I don’t how to thank you.”

“Don’t, knowing Stark, you’ll probably never thank me again, but he does need the help. They’ll probably increase the money later, I think cause he can be...difficult. They even have health insurance and other benefits for you and Peter.” Health insurance? Well, he definitely needed that, the one had currently was more a scam and necessity was the only reason Steve took it.

“When is the interview?”  
  
“I got a slot for you Friday afternoon at 3.” 

“You should go for it.” Bucky said after being silent for a long time. “You have experience helping me as well.”

“Buck..” They almost never talked about when Bucky was captured and tortured behind enemy lines.

“You should, you could definitely help. And it’s better than the sugar daddy idea I had.”

“What?” Sam sounded incredulous.

“There’s no guarantee I’m getting it.” Steve said ignoring Bucky.

“Maybe not, but you’d be stupid not to try Stevie.”  
  
“Yeah, I...Okay I’ll go, but where is it?”  
  
“At SI, with his PA, Pepper Potts.”  
  
“Alright, I guess I’ll go.”

“Wear a suit.”

“Yeah, sure Buck, I’ll dress up as Captain America.”

“There’s a good idea.” Sam said.

“Yup, that’ll give me the job.”

“Uh huh, you could represent truth, justice and the American way.”

“Sure. I’ll just put a mask on for an interview, that’ll get them to trust me.” There was the sound of a door closing. “I guess Peter’s ready for bed, I’ll see you guys tomorrow evening.” 

“Sure thing Steve.” He hugged both Bucky and Sam and then they were gone.

“Peter, did you get everything for school tomorrow?” Steve asked walking into the boys room. It was a small room and he almost had to bend a little to get inside the room. There was a small bed against one wall and a bookshelf opposite to it. The wall near the head of the bed had a window that was dingy and never really opened. At the foot was a closet that was old, rickety and slightly mouldy. Peter was already under the covers.

“I got everything in uncle Steve.”

“Okay good.” It was hard, but it had to be done. “Peter.” Steve sighed and pulled the lone chair from near the bookshelf. Peter didn’t even have a study table.

“Did I do something wrong?” The look of worry in his eyes made Steve want to hit himself. He placed a hand on the boys forehead.

“No Peter, you didn’t do anything wrong. You are the best nephew anyone could ever ask for. You don’t complain, you have a good heart and even at this age your mature and have a good morale. You’re not only a smart kid, but the best kid I know. I want you to know that nothing is ever going to happen that will make me leave you.”

“But-“

“Yes?” There was silence for a few minutes as Steve waited for a response. He wanted Peter to say whatever he was feeling and take as long as he needed for it.

“I’m a burden to you.” He felt a part of his heart break at the small voice in which Peter was speaking. “Ever since I came, you’ve had difficulty with everything. You don’t even eat. I don’t want you to leave me, uncle Steve.”

“Oh, Peter. We could be homeless and I’d still never leave you, unless it was in your best interest. I can’t promise you that the future’s gonna be better, I can’t promise you I can give you everything you want. But I can promise you that I will do everything within my power to take care of you, to make sure you have th ebest childhood possible, that you have everything you need. You don’t need to worry about me, it’s my job to take care of you, and I promise to keep getting better at my job. You are the most important person in my life Pete, you’re my kid. And I’m never leaving you.”

“Can I also take care of you?” He felt the sting in his eyes as he nodded and moved to hug Peter. The boy obviously had the same idea as got up on his bed and wrapped his tiny hands around Steve’s neck.

“Okay, but you take care of yourself first, alright?”

“Yes.” He didn’t need to see him to know he was lying. He soon got back in his bed. “Alright, where is the field trip your school is taking you to?”

“The AMNH."  
  
“Alright, so we’ll go there this weekend, that okay with you?”

“But, won’t it be expensive?” He can skip lunch for one day, and he’d just have to beg the afternoon from his job off, but it would be worth it.  

“I worry about that, you worry about what you want to do the whole day, alright?”

“Alright. Good night.”

“Good night, squirt.” Steve got up, and turned the light of before he closed the door.

He needed to get that job.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind comments. Someone asked me about my updating schedule, well the thing is I'm in medical school and I have finals coming up in less than a month, so I'll try to update as much and as regularly as I can.  
> I do hope you like this chapter, there was more I could've added, but I left it up for the third chapter as I didn't want to disrupt continuity.  
> I hope the interview in this is okay, because I've never given an interview.

“How about Frank who works in the evenings?”

“Really Natasha?” Steve gasped out at his friend. He was still out of breath after spotting Brock Rumlow. The guy always took more than Steve recommended and the end result was that Steve had to take up half of the weight.

Well, most of the weight.

Mostly,  _all_ of the weight.

“What’s wrong with Frank?”

“Don’t you have yoga to teach?” Steve was sure Natasha knew he was avoiding the topic, he could never hide anything from her anyway.

“I already did.”

“Hand to hand combat training?”

“In five minutes.”

“Which means you’re gonna keep asking me about my love life.”

“Your non-existent love life Rogers? Of course.” Steve sent a glare in her direction and looked around to see if anyone needed help. There was a woman on the treadmill, one using an exercise ball, and the others had different instructors.

Looked like he couldn’t use that excuse.

“I’m going to get a drink.” He said, already moving towards the juice bar in the corner of the room.

“I’m parched.” Natasha said, falling into step with him. He didn’t know why it even surprised him at this point, she would never strop trying to meddle into his _non-existent_ love life. It had been the same ever since she joined the gym two years ago; as soon as they became friends, she kept suggesting people he could date, and all his dates in the last year had been at her insistence.

“Well?” She asked as they sat down at the bar and took two bottles of water for themselves.

“Frank is nice, I guess, but he’s uh, he’s kind of condescending towards the new people, and he fat shames people, I don’t want to spend time with someone like that.” He replied, after he took a swing of his drink.

“Hmm okay, fine I’ll give you that.”

Glad to not be under her scrutiny, he deflected. “Okay, so, how was your weekend?”

“Normal. How about yours? Anything interesting happen?” She gave him a searching look he’d taken to called The look, because she it gave him a sense of vulnerability, like she could see right through him.

“I got a spot for a job interview.”

“Really? Is it working for Tony Stark?” He thought she was joking at first, maybe even being sarcastic, but one look at her told him she was serious.

“Should I even ask how you know? You’re really missing your calling as a world class international spy you know.”

“I’m friends with Pepper Potts. And I already work as a spy.”

“You are?” He ignored the latter part of her statement, it could be true, or it could be a lie, but unless she wanted him to know, he’d never find out.

“Yes, I was her trainer about three years ago. Then she moved on to pilates and I moved here.” She said pointing towards the pictures of fruits behind the bar.

“So, she told you I had an interview with her?”

“No, she told me she was tired of the way her boss was going through psychologists and care takers, and that Rhodey’s friend Sam from the air force suggested a military veteran. Ergo, Steve Rogers.”

“It could’ve been Bucky.” He said marvelling at the inference the red head had drawn from one offhand comment.

“No, Barnes would never tolerate Stark, and he likes his job too much. Not to mention, you’re the one who needs it.”

“So, what do you think? Should I take it?”

“Should you take it? Steve, you have to take it. But I’m not sure how much you’ll like it. According to Pepper, Stark’s normally difficult, but he is downright intolerable right now. He’ll push all your buttons and you can’t get worked up.”

“Well, some of it is expected, given everything that’s happened. It’s only been three weeks, hasn’t it? Since he got back.”

“Yes, but you’ll have to be prepared.”

“I think I’ll just see if I can get the job first. Before thinking about whether or not I can tolerate it.”

“That’s where most people go wrong. Anyway, my time’s up, I have to go.”

“Okay, wait, have you met him?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“You’ll figure it out.” She said with a small barely present smile and left in a flurry of red hair. Sometimes, Steve wondered if there was anyone who would truly understand Natasha Romanov. Then he remembered that Barton existed for a reason, and it wasn’t to teach Peter magic tricks.

* * *

Friday came far sooner than Steve had anticipated and it seemed he had been quite unprepared for it. 

For someone who needed the job as much as he did, he was definitely stacking the odds up against himself. He’d forgotten his suit that morning in the rush to get Peter to the Leeds, who then took him to school, so he was sitting in the gleaming offices of Stark Industries in a skin tight white t shirt and a pair of tight fitting jeans. Hardly fitting for a job interview, but he didn’t have time to go to Brooklyn to get his suit.

He was, apparently, also the only man who’d come in to interview for this position. There were at least five women dressed in business shirts and pencil skirts, and while he may have gotten some uh, appreciative glances, it was mostly a variant of ‘this guy isn’t going to get the job.’ He watched as another one of those women was called by a platinum blonde. It was the same woman who’d handed Steve a job application to fill when he first arrived.

He really hated Stark towers. It was a big building right in the middle of Manhattan, and it seemed like an ode Stark had written to himself. He shifted in his chair and looked around the lobby, as much he didn’t like the feel of it, he had to admit it was impressive. It was also quiteintimidating which he supposed was the point.

There was a stack of newspapers and magazines on a table next to him. He picked up the first one.

 _Stark Raving Mad_ , was the headline.

_CEO Tony Stark announced at a press conference that Stark Industries will shut down its weapons manufacturing devision. The announcement came immediately after Stark was rescued from the clutches of terrorists who had held the billionaire in an undisclosed location in the Middle East._

_Stark, 38, was captured three months ago from an active war zone in Afghanistan by a terrorist organisation who call themselves the Ten Rings. The leaders of the organisation were able to get away, but two members of the terrorist ring were apprehended while rescuing Stark._

_Tony Stark has been dubbed by some as America’s greatest mass - murderer. He was given this name because his company is the largest defence contractor of the U.S military and its allies, providing weapons to the militia of almost 30 countries._

_The board of Stark industries has hastened to assure_ _investors that the decision is still ongoing after they have showed their mistrust in Stark’s decision by dumping the company’s shares, so that there was a fall in stock price by forty points within a day of the announcement._

_Stark Industries was founded by Howard Stark who was most famously known for his involvement in Project Manhattan. He built the company in the 1940s after President Roosevelt announced the entry of America in the second world war due to Pearl Harbour. Stark then provided almost one hundred thousand planes to the military._

_After the passing of Howard Stark with his wife in a tragic car accident in 1991, Tony Stark took over as CEO at the age of 21. He was the youngest CEO of a fortune 500 company. He had already graduated summa cum laude from MIT at the age of 17._

Steve stopped reading the article as it now contained old information he was more or less aware of.

The next newspaper contemplated if Stark had defected while in captivity and if that was the reason he shut down the weapons manufacturing.

Another one speculated that Stark was being pushed out of the company.

One spoke of Stark’s move from Stark Towers to his house in upstate New York.

One documented that he had gone cover to cover with the Maxim calendar girls from the previous years edition.

There were many more articles of the same variety.

How was he going to stand spending time with this man?

If it hadn’t been for Peter -

“Steven Rogers.” He looked up from the papers to see the woman from before and got up, placing the papers back in their place.

“Follow me.” He could feel his heart drop to his stomach as he walked behind her down a gleaming hallway.

He thought of Peter, with his brown eyes and consistent interest in new microscopes and science books, the fridge in the kitchen whose contents were nearly over without a pay check in sight, and steeled himself. He hadn’t even realised his palms were sweating till he was pushing the door at the end of the hallway open and stepping into the room. There was a large desk towards the opposite end of the room, a white couch to his right. A tall, dark skinned man standing behind it while a woman with red hair was sitting behind the desk.

“Good afternoon.” The woman said after she looked up from a stack of papers and got up and addressed him with a pleasant smile. “You must be Mr. Rogers, I’m Pepper Potts, please come in.”

“Yes, I am, thank you ma’am.” He walked in and shook the hand she offered before turning to the man, who was gave him a calculating look.

Steve barely stopped his jaw from dropping. Although he had received the Medal of Honor more than two years ago, there were very few people who knew about it. Sam and Bucky, Natasha because she could be sneaky like that, and Peter.

So, he was thrown in a loop when the man stood at attention and saluted him.

He pulled himself together and returned the gesture before realising that _this_ must be Colonel James Rhodes who Sam had been talking about.

“Colonel Rhodes, it’s an honour to meet you, Sam speaks highly of you.” He said when they both relaxed.

“Rhodey’s fine, it’s an honour to meet you as well.”

“Right,” it was Ms. Potts that spoke, and Steve almost felt bad, she may not have had experience with this behaviour. “Steve, please take a seat.” He thanked her after he sat down and Colonel Rhodes seemed to have pulled a chair out of nowhere.

“So, what do you know about this job?” It seemed Ms. Potts would lead with the questioning.

“I know I’ll be required to keep Mr. Stark company.”

“You would also be required to try and keep him from… well, doing stuff, you know, stupid, crazy stuff.” Ms. Potts said.

“Like mixing alcohol and medication.” Colonel Rhodes said, or Rhodey as he insisted.

“I can do that.” Steve said, he came to realise he’d agree to anything if it meant he was getting this job.

Well, _almost._

“You’ll also have to make sure he eats. Tony has habit of locking himself in his lab for well over thirty hours ignoring food and surviving on coffee alone. He’ll also do almost anything to get you to listen to him. It would range anywhere between offering money, irritating you or flirting with you. He also has a habit of not listening to his physiotherapist.” Steve was attempting to keep his face impassive but the list of things the man did, and didn’t, do sounded highly unhealthy and irresponsible, to the point where his friends were worried about him.

“There can be impromptu parties you may not be able to handle, he may lose his temper at any moment, ignore you for hours, send you out on pretences, make you wait hours after giving a commitment, there’s very few things he’s punctual about, and he’ll definitely get into your head if you let him.” Rhodey said and Steve contemplated a response.

“We don’t want to scare you,” he almost believed her, but the look in her eyes told Steve she was subtly trying to manipulate him; she wanted to see whether or not he was suited for the job. “But Tony is…in a difficult place right now, his life has changed and he’s trying to getting used to living in a new way, and we want to be sure that you know what you are signing up for.” The last part wasn’t manipulative, he knew that, she was looking at him earnestly, she was hurt to see what had happened to the man, and it was obvious that she was tired at being unable to help him.

“I’m not afraid.” He almost felt like he was in the middle of an active war zone again, it wasn’t Steve Rogers talking now, it was Captain Rogers. “I admit I’ve never done a job like this before, and I’m most definitely not a trained therapist or psychologist, but I do have experience with people who have gone through life changing experiences because of a war.” He could still remember when they brought Bucky out of captivity. “I will do this job to the best of my abilities.”

“I’m sure you will, when can you start?” Ms. Potts asked after a few moments of silence.

“I - what?” Steve wished he had a dollar for every time he embarrassed himself, he really would not need this job at all.He could feel the Captain Rogers persona slip and he was now back to Steve who used to pick fights in back alleys.

“When can you start, Steve?” She asked again, and he was glad she didn’t say anything about his slip - up.

“Monday, if that’s alright, I’ll have to leave my current employment. They do already know about the interview, so it won’t be a problem.”

“Okay, so Monday, at 9:00 am, come to this address. Tony was hounded by the media, so he’s no longer living at Stark Towers. You will be expected to stay with him till seven, at which point Happy will be there. I’ll introduce you two. Also, this is what we’re offering you.” She slid a piece of and a letter towards him. The pice of paper had the address of a house upstate, while the letter had the proposed salary. If he hadn’t been used to unforeseen situations his eyes would have bulged out; they were offering him far too much just for accompanying a man. He wasn’t about to kick a gift horse in the mouth though.

“Is that enough?”

“Wh- Yes, yes that’s enough.”

“Okay, well there are some papers you’ll have to sign, but we’ll leave that to Monday. Is there you’d like to ask?”

“Oh no, thank you Ms. Potts.” Steve got up after her.

“Of course Steve, I’ll see you on Monday. Good luck.” She said with a smile before he walked out.

* * *

 

“How much?” Sam asked as he brought out beers for himself, Steve and Bucky.

“You heard what I told you.”

“Damn, I almost wish _I_ had taken this job.” Bucky said.

It was a pleasant Saturday evening, there was a nice breeze and no chances of rain, so they had all decided to have a barbecue at Sam and Bucky’s backyard.

“Well, what did you expect? This is Stark we’re talking about.” Natasha piped up next to Steve after she had emptied her glass of vodka.

“You know Nat, I think you’ve forgotten that you’re the only one who’s met the guy.” Clint said from behind them where he was doing the ribs.

“That’s not true, Sam has met him as well.”

“Yeah, but he wasn’t exactly conscious at the time, so technically you’re the only one who has met him and spoken to him.”

“Spoken to whom uncle Sam?” Peter said as he crawled out from under the table they were all sitting.

“Peter, what were you doing there?” Steve asked checking for grass stains. Nowhere apart from the knees of his pants. He really wondered how the boy was still energetic, after all they had spent the whole afternoon at the museum of natural history. He though Peter would fall asleep before the food was done.

“I was chasing a caterpillar, I think it was moulting.”

“It’s going to be fine Peter, sit.”

“Okay, but who were you talking about?”

“Tony Stark, I’m going to work for him now.”

“Really?!” Five heads turned to stare at Peter who was sitting in his chair next to Steve. “He’s a genius, isn’t he? I read he made a circuit board when he was four and he’s an engineer who graduated really early, when other people his age were still in high school. And he even makes the things that protected you all when you were away from the country.”

“How do you know all that squirt?” Sam asked after a minute of stunned silence.

“My dad told me, he said he worked with him once.”

It seemed Steve was in for surprises this week.

“Richard worked with Tony Stark? When?”

“He said it was before I was born.”

“Really? Wow, I had no idea.” He said looking at the rest of the table.

“Are you excited to work with him uncle Steve?”

“Yeah, of course.” He usually made it a point not to lie to Peter, but he couldn’t tell the boy he was dreading spending time with the man.

Not only was Stark arrogant, egoistic, and selfish, he didn’t even care that his friends were beside themselves with worry, he was also a war profiteer. While soldiers died in war zones, or came back with scars, PTSD, sleepless nights, no jobs, and lives that were completely altered, the man made money out of it.Steve, just as everyone else, was well aware of the lobbying and all of Stark’s influence with politicians. What was worse, was that despite having everything, the man still didn’t seem to appreciate any of it. But, Steve wondered, why was the man shutting down that part of the business now? Maybe it was just a guilty conscience, either Steve would find out soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry that there's no Tony yet, but we do have Sam, Bucky, Peter, Natasha, Clint, Pepper and Rhodey, so hopefully that'll make up for now, next chapter will be all about Tony and Steve.  
> I wanted to introduce (or re - introduce) Tony to you all and obviously Steve. And Peter gushing over Tony is life.  
> The article written in this chapter is taken from the MCU newspaper and has the same title, but the article is written by me. I'm not sure how similar the two are because I only read that article once. Here's a link to it -https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/20856/is-the-age-of-tony-stark-consistent-with-the-appearance-of-his-father-in-the-cap  
> Let me know how you feel about this chapter and as always, constructive criticism is welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Steve, and by extension, we, finally meet Tony. JARVIS is omnipotent.  
> Tony's house in this chapter is the Avengers Facility that we see in AoU and Spiderman:Homecoming.

Over the last two, almost three days, Steve had imagined this moment many times, but nothing in his imagination could have ever met the reality.

He was standing in front of Tony Stark’s house.

Enormous, that was his first thought.

The property was almost a hundred acres, a large glass house right in the centre of a lawn. It was so extensive that walking from the front gates to the front door would take at least fifteen minutes, which was the reason he was glad he’d decided to take a cab from the station. The subway was the only route of commute from Brooklyn that didn’t take too long and wouldn’t completely tire Steve out.

He walked to the front door and rang the doorbell.

The door opened and there was no one to be seen.

Steve suddenly, stupidly, thought that maybe he was in a horror movie or maybe a Disney movie. He personally loved watching those and he had no idea why Sam, Bucky and Peter always bitterly complained when he picked those on movie nights.

He walked inside the door and almost shrieked when he heard a voice.

“Good morning Mr. Rogers, Ms. Potts told me to expect you. Sir and Ms. Potts are in the living room, you can get there by walking straight down this hallway and then taking a right.”

Steve was breathing heavily by the time the voice stopped talking and was frantically looking around for the source, turning in every direction when he heard another voice, decidedly not British and far more relaxed than the first one.

“That’s JARVIS, you can turn around now soldier.” When he did, he found himself with a brown haired man wearing a blue AC/DC shirt and dark ripped jeans. It only took him a minute to place him as the same man who wore three piece suits on magazine covers. His hair was messed, he had bags under his eyes and his left forearm was covered in grease upto his elbow. “He’s an AI, that’s Artificial Intelligence for you, the only one in the world courtesy of, well, me.”

“You are as humble as always, sir.” The voice, JARVIS, spoke again.

“Yeah, he does that sometime, sasses me, makes me regret wiring _that_ in his code. Well, only sometimes, okay none of the time. He helps with whatever you need, food, groceries, restocking the toilet paper. He’s the go to man. If you ever, you know, forget the way out, he’ll point you right to it.”

Steve was speechless as he tried to comprehend that within two minutes of meeting the man, he had already been insulted in a single sentence that was spoken at a rate that would put a young, nervous Hermione Granger to shame.

“I-”

“Oh, Steve, you’re here.” Ms. Potts was now in the foyer? and her appearance pulled Steve down to earth.

“Yeah, fifteen minutes late too. I thought someone with your background would know the importance of punctuality.”

Steve once again opened his mouth to defend himself, yet his vocal cords wouldn’t co-operate. He was still in shock.

“Really Tony, you’re going to talk about punctuality?”

“Oh, come on Pepper, it’s not like-“

“I’m sorry Steve, I probably should’ve sent a car to pick you up at the station.” She was now speaking over Stark, who was continuing on a tangent about how board meetings and galas didn’t count, but fell silent once she turned to glare at him. “Tony-“

“Look, all I’m saying, is I don’t need anyone to bring me my _food_ -“

“Tony, you can’t pick up a _fork_ ,-“ and her voice had taken a soft tone that made Steve feel bad.

“And while the blonde Adonis is _great_ eye candy-” Stark continued and Steve frustratingly felt a blush rise up his neck and cheeks.

“You need someone to help you _eat_ -“

“I am not a child who needs round the clock care!”

“Yes, you do!”

There was silence then. No one, not even the AI said anything. Stark and Ms. Potts were staring each other down, probably trying to see who would back down first, no one did. In the end it was Stark who broke the silence.

“Thanks for recruiting the help, Ms. Potts.” His face was an emotionless mask and his brown eyes had gone cold and unfeeling, Steve wondered if this was how he looked when he designed weapons of mass destruction.

“Will that be all for today Mr. Stark?” Potts wasn’t any better either, her whole countenance had gone form defensive, then sympathetic to now a mask to hide her irritation and perhaps, even sadness.

“Yes, Ms. Potts. Show him,” Stark vaguely gestured towards Steve, “whatever you deem necessary, I’ll be down in the lab, and I’d like to be left alone.” And while he didn’t look at Steve, he knew the latter part of the statement was directed at him. It seemed Ms. Potts wanted to protest the statement, but visibly held back as Stark left the room, probably knowing which battles to choose.

“I’m sorry about that Steve.”

“It’s not your fault Ms. Potts.”

“You can call me Pepper. There’s not much to tell, there’s a file in the living room on the couch, it contains your contract with SI, health insurance papers and some documentation that you need to sign, I’ve marked the places where you have to. Tony needs to take his medicines with his lunch, the medicine box is in the kitchen, JARVIS will tell you where it is, he’ll have to take them at two, so try having lunch before then, feel free to help yourself to anything you like as well. And Happy will drop you off at the station in the evening. He’ll also be there to pick you up tomorrow. Also if you need anything, just call me, JARVIS will program my number into your phone.”

“Okay, thank you, but there’s no need for anyone to pick me up or drop me off.”

“The property is very secluded and while you may get a cab from the station it’s a lot harder to call one here to take you there, it’ll just be easier if you have Happy for that.”

“Okay, thanks a lot.”

“Your welcome.” She laid a hand on his arm and smiled before leaving.

Steve followed JARVIS’ instructions and reached the living room.

“Would you like a tour of the house, sir?” Maybe when he was in the mood for a workout.

“No, not right now JARVIS, but thank you.” Steve felt slightly awkward that he was essentially talking to a house. He wondered how an AI worked anyways, he was sure he could ask the _man?_ It would be insulting to call it a thing, could it, _he?_ Even feel insulted, or anything at all?

He shook his head to clear and then sat down on the couch picking up the paper. It was a huge contract, detailing the demands of his employment, mentioning the various benefits he would be getting, papers for health insurance. Steve tried reading through the file, but found himself unable to do so, and eventually just signed everywhere required.

He kept the file on the centre table when he was done and checked his watch.

11:30.

What was he supposed to do?

And what about his employer?

He felt some sympathy for the man who couldn’t or wouldn’t even move his hand. He was clearly not getting enough sleep. But he was still a war profiteer. Did he even mean it when he said he was going to stop weapons manufacturing? How would he sustain his obviously lavish lifestyle, and really even that was an understatement, if he shut down the most profitable portion of his company. How would he manage two houses? Steve didn’t think he could do it.

Either way, Steve was stuck with him and he with Steve and maybe getting to know the man might make his job bearable for both of them. Maybe Steve could properly introduce himself to Stark, show him he was there to help and not condescend the man. Yes, he thought, that would work.

“JARVIS?” He tried, a bit hesitantly. Although the AI had given him directions, it was obvious his loyalties lay with his creator, and really wasn’t that befitting the egomaniacal image he had read about, he may not help Steve at all.

“Yes, Mr. Rogers?”

“Where is Mr. Stark? Can I see him?”

“Sir is currently in his workshop, you may go down, but he has not confirmed as to whether he would see you.”

“Okay, well er, how do I get there?”

Steve soon found himself standing outside the workshop. He had to climb down a long staircase before reaching glass walls. Either the lights inside were dimmed or it was tinted glass, because Steve couldn’t see anything inside. He tried the handle on the door.

Nothing happened.

“Um, how do I-“

“I’m afraid you do not have access to this area of the house Mr. Rogers.”

“Oh, well, could you ask Mr. Stark-“ _if he’d like to talk to me for no obvious reason_ , “no, just tell him I’m outside.”

There was silence for a moment, but instead of JARVIS saying anything again, the door opened and Stark was standing in the doorway, with a wench clenched under his arm, rock music was playing inside that made Steve want to cover his ears.

“Getting bored, are we?” Stark said, casually leaning against the doorframe, looking uninterested.

“I just came down to introduce myself-“

“Steven Grant Rogers, signed up to the army the day he turned 18, _the 4th of July_ , tell me are your favourite colours blue, white and red? You went to the military to defend the country, you currently hold sole custody of one Peter Parker, your eight year old nephew, how do you tolerate kids anyway? You’re a 26 year old decorated war hero with a Medal of Honor, so why do you also have to be a pain in the ass?”

“I - What, by _existing_? And how do you even know all that, some of that stuff is not even on the job application.”

“No, by existing _near_ _me_. JARVIS does a deep, and maybe not completely legal background check, so I know everything there is to know. Look Rogers, I don’t need your pity, I don’t need your company and I definitely do not need to introduce myself, read a paper or something for that, okay? And if you’re too bored, just watch the tv, there is a big 50 inch in the living room if you didn’t notice.”

“I did, I just thought-”

“Good, stay clear of the porn, will you? I have a personal collection and I don’t really want it messed with.”

Steve hated himself for the speed with which he went red.

Stark raised a single eyebrow.

Steve cleared his throat.

“What would you like for lunch?”

“Lunch? Do you usually change the topic when you’re uncomfortable? That’s evading Rogers.”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“Granola bars”

“What?”

“For lunch, for God’s sake, keep up.” And he managed to look frustrated while he said it.

“You can’t just have granola bars for lunch.”

“I can, and I will.”

He had a feeling that was how Stark was with all aspects in his life. He did what he liked.

“Of course you can, but maybe something more filling? Maybe a burger?” Steve suggested.

“You can have it.”

“Salad?”

“And how will you maintain those biceps if you don’t have enough proteins?”

“For you Mr. Stark, not me.”

“God, don’t call me that. Reminds me of dad. I don’t wanna remember dad. Call me Tony.” Didn’t want to remember his dad?

“What about-“

“Eat whatever you like.”

“What about you?”

“You don’t have to care about me.”

Before Steve could say that he did and that it was literally what he was hired to do, the door was shut and Star- Tony had gone.

-

Steve wandered back up the stairs and with the AI’s help, again, reached the kitchen. He didn’t have anything else to do, so he may as well start on lunch.

The kitchen looked like it was out of a magazine catalogue, a chef’s dream, the stove didn’t have knobs, the refrigerator was stocked with fresh produce, ham, cheese, beef, chicken, shrimp, lobster, possibly every kind of meat. The pantry was the same; fully stocked, the bread was the fancy, hundred dollar variety, there were pizza bases, noodles, taco shells, and pasta.

“JARVIS, does Mr- how does Tony like his pasta?”

After getting the instructions from the AI, who apparently moonlighted as a chef’s guide, Steve began to make spaghetti and meatballs. It took longer than he expected because he had to make some alterations to the sauce, _sir prefer it that way,_ but by the time he was done, it was almost 1:30. Steve took the medicines from the cabinet above the sink and was about to take the plate to the workshop when a haggard and frustrated looking Stark walked in the door.

He could almost pass as a cat with that stealth.

Why was everyone, other than Peter, in Steve’s life extremely stealthy?

“Tony, I was just about to come downstairs, lunch is ready.”

The other man said nothing like he hadn’t even heard Steve, but came and sidled next to him, so close they were almost touching, smelling of caramel and engine oil, odd as that was, and reached up to pull a glass from the cabinet above him, filled it with water, took all four of his pills and downed them together.

“You were supposed to take those after lunch.” Steve said helplessly.

“Don’t care.” He then moved away, opened another cabinet and took out a granola bar. He tore it open with his teeth and made to move leave the kitchen.

“Have a good lunch.”

“Wait, you’re supposed to have lunch too. I made spaghetti, JARVIS said it’s your favourite.”

“Not hungry.”

“Mr. Stark, please, you have to take your medications with food, Ms. Potts told me as much. If you don’t like this, it’s fine. I can cook something else for you to have.”

“No thanks.”

“But-”

“But what Rogers? I need to eat? Why are you worried about that? Look where you are and who you’re talking to, no one’s going to cut your pay cause I didn’t eat, just give me a break.”

“I -That’s not why I-”

“Of course, that’s why you keep insisting,” they were face to face with maybe half a tile between them, “you’re here for the money, caring isn’t in you job description.”

“That doesn’t matter, it doesn’t mean-”

“Stop telling me what to do!”

“Stop cutting me off, it’s disrespectful.”

“Oh come on, you’re just the pretty, young, blonde thing Pepper hired because she thinks it may make me reasonable, that doesn’t mean I have to respect you.”

“Clearly not, but you could at least take care of yourself.”

“Excuse me, I am doing an excellent job at that.”

“What? By locking yourself in and not listening to reason.”

“Oh for Gods sake, stop nagging me.”

“No, not until you’ve-”

“No, I don’t have to listen to this bull-”

“Well stop behaving like an immature child and eat your food-”

“I’m not your nephew, stop talking down to me.”

“Obviously not, Peter’s got _way_ more sense than you.”

“You do know I’m a certified genius, don’t you?”

“Doesn’t mean you have common sense, apparently.”

Stark let out a harsh breath before speaking in a much more level voice.

“Look”, he said holding up the granola bar, “I am having lunch-”

“That isn’t lunch-”

“It is for me!”

Steve opened his mouth and then shut it again. He ran a hand over his face.

“Well, if your outburst is over, I’m going to go now.” Steve turned sideways as he watched the other man walk away.

“My outburst?” His response fell on deaf ears though, Stark had already left. Steve wished there was a punching bag somewhere. The gall of the man, which was the reason he was not going to get the last word.

Moving with anger, he grabbed bread from the pantry and started slicing it with perhaps a little too much force and set about making a double decked ham, egg and cheese sandwich. He crudely cut it into four pieces, which miraculously didn’t look bad and put them on a small plate, walking towards the workshop the second time that day.

“JARVIS? Can you call Tony out? Or maybe I can go in?”

“I’m afraid Mr. Stark would like to be alone right now, Mr. Rogers.”

“Then tell him I won’t leave until he comes out, and that I’ll start banging on the door while I stay here. I don’t care exactly how immature it is.”

Then the door opened again and Tony stood in front of him looking even more frustrated.

“What _is_ it with you Rogers?”

“I made a sandwich for you. Ham, eggs and cheese.”

“I told you-“

“According to Ms. Potts, you can’t currently use forks so you obviously can’t eat the spaghetti, so I made you something that wouldn’t require one.”

“Wow, thanks a lot for the sympathy _Steve_.” There was a bite in his voice that irritated Steve. He’d been on his feet almost three hours now and he was quite sick of it now.

“It’s not sympathy, it’s my _job._ And I promised I would do it efficiently, so this is me doing that.”

“Uh huh good for you Rogers, you’ll definitely get the employee of the year award. I don’t want to have that sandwich, go back.” Stark turned around but stopped when Steve spoke.

“Fine, I’ll bring something else.”

“I said-“

“I heard, and I won’t stop cooking until you finally eat something.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Try me.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you make a mountain of a molehill?”

“They may have but I’m learning from my employer and I’ll do what I want.”

“Fine, I’ll take it, but I swear to your abysmal fashion sense Rogers, you disturb me one more time, I’ll play rock so loud you’ll be clutching your earlobes all day.” He reached out and pulled the plate out of Steve’s hands. This time when he turned around, he kicked the door shut.

“That went well.”

“It did indeed, it has gone worse.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

“You should also eat your food, Mr. Rogers.” Steve started climbing up the stairs as he walked back toward the kitchen.

“You know, you can call me Steve.”

“I apologise, but that isn’t in my programming.” Steve was suddenly aware that he had been chatting with an AI most of the day, that he had made friends with the AI, but he hadn’t had a single civil conversation with Tony the whole day. He could feel irritation and frustration seething inside him. Stark was much worse than he though he would be, arrogant, pig headed, selfish, self absorbed, egoistic and disrespectful. It wasn’t as if Steve had been _expected_ him to be respectful, but he had expected some decency and human courtesy, but it didn’t seem he could even manage that.

He had called Steve a _pretty, young, blonde thing_ like he didn’t have an identity, like he didn’t exist for any other reason than being the mans eye candy.

He was pulled out of his seething anger when his phone rang in his back pocket, and a smile was filling his face, seeing it was Sam, which meant only one thing

“Hi uncle Steve!”

“Hey Pete, how’s your day going.”

“Really great, my math teacher said I’m really smart when I did all my sums on my own and she gave me a star too.”

“That’s great Pete. I’m really proud of you.” He spoke through a smile, Peter was enough to brighten up even the worst days.

“It wasn’t even a test.”

“Doesn’t matter squirt, I’m still real proud. Did you have lunch yet?” He was getting sick of that question. Great, now he was attaching everyday things to Tony Stark.

“I did, I even ate all the peas.”

“Good, they are very good for you.” He said with a laugh.

“But I don’t like them.”

“I know, but sometimes we have to do things we don’t like.”

“But we get rewarded for that, don’t we?”

“Yes, sometimes we do, others we just have to do it without a reward.”

“So, which time is it for me?”

“That depends Peter, what do you want?” He tried to be serious, but it _was_ Peter, he most likely get what he wants.

“Pizza for dinner.” He laughed again.

“Of course you do, can you give the phone to Sam? I’ll talk to him.” He heard a whoop of joy before Sam spoke.

“That kid is already way too spoilt, you know?”

“Yeah well, someone should have a good day.”

“Uh-oh, what happened?” Steve fell into the couch he’d walked towards while talking and proceeded to tell Sam everything.

“Damn.”

“You’re telling me, the guys-” an arrogant prick, he wanted to say, but JARVIS was listening, he was sure, “unbearable.”

“He’s probably just afraid.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he lives alone in a house like that, and most of his friends are the people on his payroll, now he’s saddled with someone he doesn’t know after losing the functioning of a limb, an important one, after being held captive for months. I mean he probably can’t even eat, that must be the reason he’s eating energy bars for lunch.”

“Oh.”

“And everything else he said to you, probably just lashing out, so you’d be hurt and leave, so he wouldn’t have to be vulnerable with you. It’s just a defence mechanism, most likely.”

“I know, and I’d normally agree, but he’s so infuriating that I wish I had a punching bag.”

“I get it, but just try to show some sympathy, when we found him in that desert, it was terrible Steve, he was dehydrated and wounded, it was not pretty. It would’ve been traumatic to anyone, let alone a civilian.” That Steve could get.

“He hates it, the sympathy.” And Steve wasn’t sure if he deserved any.

“Then let him know you’re there if he needs anything, but try to give full autonomy.”

“Right, okay. I guess I can do it, just remind me why I’m doing it.”

“Peter.”

“Yes, good thanks Sam.”

“Anytime Cap.” He said before hanging up.

“God, that phone is an insult to technology, you could at least use a flip phone Rogers.” Stark was back with the empty plate.

“God, do you always sneak up on people?”

“Really though, that phone needs to go, can you even text on that thing? You need a phone you can you text you can text on Rogers.”

“If I’m calling you Tony, you’re calling me Steve, give me the plate.” He said getting up.

“Right, there you go. Have a good night.”

“It’s afternoon.”

“We won’t see each other again today.”

And then Steve was alone again. Stark was right, he didn’t see him again the rest of the day, and there was a car waiting to take him to the station.

All, things considered, it was a bad first day, but not the worst one Steve had ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a lot for the comments and the kudos guys.  
> Please let me know how this was, this the first time I've written Tony, and I hope I got his character right, because he is really hard to right. And sass, I hope there was enough sass. Also, I'm always open to constructive criticism.  
> Also, Steve and Tony can't even have lunch without fighting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm so, so sorry, but I finals and it took up more time than I thought it would. Please forgive me, I'll try to upload at once a week from this point on.
> 
> I feel like this chapter is a bit rusty, but try as I might, I couldn't do much to change the way it is. Please let me know what you think of Steve and Tony's interactions in this. Plus, we meet Bruce Banner and another hero is name dropped.
> 
> Also, on a slightly different note, are there any Potterheads here? I recently saw FB:Crimes of Grindelwald, what is your opinion of it?

In the five days he had been working for Stark, with the exception of the first day, Steve had hardly ever seen the man leave his lab for more than a few minutes. It seemed he had reduced his entire house to one room.

 

So, he decided that stopping in his tracks with his jaw hanging was an appropriate reaction when he saw the man in the living room when he first came into work on Saturday.

 

Perhaps, it was a slightly over the top reaction, but it _was_ appropriate.

 

He was sitting on a bar stool near the couch, that was probably dragged over from the other room, and he wasn’t alone.

 

There was a man in dress pants and a green shirt standing in front of Stark.

 

He closed his mouth when he caught the mans eyes.

 

“Hey there, Cap,” Stark had taken to calling him that from the second day itself, “this is Dr. Bruce Banner my physiotherapist, Brucey-bear, that’s Steve Rogers, he’s my keeper.” Steve assumed the two men were close because the new man hardly reacted at the nickname Stark gave him.

 

Dr. Banner turned and greeted Steve, who had finally started moving and was now placing his messenger bag on the plush black couch He was probably closer to Stark in age than to Steve, a few flecks of grey in his black hair.

 

“Good morning, Mr. Rogers.”

 

“Good morning, it's nice to meet you.” He said giving the doctor a smile and then turned towards Stark, “I can come back after some time if you’d prefer that.”

 

“No, that's fine, you can stay and watch the foreplay.”

 

Steve needed to learn how to keep a poker face.

 

Stark had been using his weakness, dropping innuendos here and there at times when Steve least expected it and, to his horror, they made him go red in face every time.

 

The doctor in turn raised his eyebrows at Tony and turned to Steve.

 

“I'm just going to make Tony do some tasks now.” Steve nodded as the doctor looked at him, and took a place on the couch near the end, trying to give them as much privacy as possible. He busied himself with a book on art concepts then, paying it only half the attention he usually did.

 

“Anything for you Brucey.”

 

“Really? Well, did you consider that splint I told you about last time?”

 

“You know Brucey, as a matter of fact, I did.”

 

“And?”

 

“No.”

 

“Tony…”

 

“No, I am not putting my hand in a splint again, it really doesn’t go with the look you know. I have a-”

 

“What, you’re ‘I haven’t showered and shaved in weeks look?’”

 

“Reputation.” Stark completed over the doctor. “Oh, come on, it doesn’t look that bad. I look ruggedly handsome.”

 

Steve was sure it had stopped being ‘ruggedly handsome’ a week ago and was now bordering into ‘unkept’.

 

Dr. Banner apparently agreed.

 

“It’s not ruggedly handsome. It screams lazy.”

 

“Really? Me, lazy? I’m a lot of things-“

 

“Insomniac and stubborn included.”

 

“I am not lazy.”

 

“And that stubbornness is the reason you won’t wear a cast. I mean, come on, it’ll help with the pain Tony.”

 

“What pain? It doesn't hurt.” Banner gave Stark a plain look.

 

“You have peripheral neuropathy Tony. I’m talking about the pain that has you finishing the whole bottle of acetaminophen.”

 

“Not the whole bottle, there's still some left.”

 

“Then it’ll be over within two days.”

 

“It's a hindrance, I won't be able to do things.”

 

“You aren't able to do them right now anyway. Plus, I think that’s the whole reason Pepper hired Steve.”

 

“Look, I get it big guy, you got a big ol’ crush on Pep-”

 

“I don't.” Steve was glad that he wasn't the only one who went red at inopportune moments given the state of Banners face and neck.

 

“Even Steve can figure it out.” Stark said incredulously.

 

“The bottom line is that you need a splint.”

 

“Oh, come on Brucey, I got stuff to do.”

 

“Okay, rest your arm on your right knee for me, will you?” He said as he placed Starks hand limply by his side. “What stuff?”

 

“Secret stuff.” There was a strain in his voice as he moved his arm inch by inch, attempting to bring it up to his knee.

 

“What secret stuff?”

 

“Revamping my company, that kinda stuff. Damn it.” He said as he let his hand fall back to his side.

 

“Again Tony.”

 

“You’re really going to stop making weapons?” Steve interjected, it seemed the doctors plan was to distract Stark with conversation and Steve couldn't resist himself.

 

Or wouldn't.

 

It didn't matter much either way.

 

"Of course I am," there was a touch of indignance in Starks voice that Steve hadn't heard before. "I just gotta convince the board to take a different direction. But that won't happen till the injunction is removed. Obie’s working on that."

 

"So what plans do you have?” Steve asked, keeping his book aside.

 

"StarkPhones. Just like smart phones, only better, because look who's making them. Maybe clean energy, that'll take time though.”

 

“Oh.” Those were good ideas, but Steve was quite sure he would get another sarcastic response if voiced it, and so kept it to himself. The rest of the session, which lasted an hour, passed by in relative silence.

Stark had a sheen of sweat on his forehead by the time it was over and excused himself before the doctor left.

 

Dr. Banner turned towards Steve when he left the room.

 

“It was very nice to meet you Captain Rogers.”

 

“Oh, I’m not - you can just call me Steve.” He said as he jerked up to help the doctor with his briefcase.

 

“Alright. I guess I’ll see you next week Steve.” 

 

“Yes, see you.” Steve said as he walked the doctor out.

 

“Mr. Rogers,” JARVIS said as he walked into the living room again, “it seems sir requires your help.”

 

“Tony?” The fact that he asked for help surprised Steve. “Of course where is he?” Hopefully, it wasn’t too bad.

 

“The washroom. I can walk you to the master bedroom.”

 

What help would Stark need from Steve in the bathroom?

 

“Is he okay?” He hoped the other man hadn’t called.

 

“Yes, but by my estimates, he won’t be for much long.”

 

Instead of questioning the AI any further, he followed his directions to a ridiculously large room, with a king sized bed in the centre, minimum furniture, expensive artwork and a grey decor.

 

He walked to the bathroom door and knocked on it.

 

He wasn’t just going to walk into the guys bathroom.

 

“Rogers?”

 

“Yeah, is everything okay, JARVIS said you might need help.”

 

He heard the clearing of a throat from inside, “uh, kind of, but I swear to God you ever mention this to anyone….”

 

“I won’t. Let me help you.”

 

“Alright come in.”

 

Steve pushed the heavy door open.

 

Stark was sitting on a stool in front of the counter. There were various hair products on it, and the mirror on the wall opposite the door showed a downtrodden Stark with an electronic razor in his hand.

 

Steve should’ve expected it.

 

The Tony Stark he’d read about in the papers and the occasional magazine was always immaculate and put together. Even in the pictures where he was leaving a party drunk, he always seemed very put together.

 

And after the conversation he had with the doctor, it shouldn’t be surprising that he was shaving.

 

With his non-dominant hand.

  
He met the other man’s eyes in the mirror, seeing a hint of vulnerability for the first time.

 

“I er.. tried to shave, but JARVIS kept saying I’d cut myself and well, I did.” He pointed at a spot below his left ear where there was a small cut. “It’s not bleeding, but J is a worrywart.”

 

Steve couldn’t help but agree with JARVIS’ concern.

 

“And he’s rightfully so.” He took a moment, waiting for the question that never came.“I can shave that for you if you like.”

 

“Yeah okay, it’s not like you have to.”

 

“Well, there’s no one else around.”

 

“Don’t I know it. Sure, go ahead.” Steve moved towards the counter, while unbuttoning his shirt sleeves to pull them up to his elbows.

 

“Most people don’t do it themselves anyway.”

 

“Yeah, but most people do that because they don’t want to, not because they can’t.”

 

“Tons of people can’t shave their own beards you know, I used to do it for my friend Bucky throughout high school.”

 

“I’m not in high school.”

 

“I know”, Steve picked up the razor blade and asked Tony to move around to have his back to the mirror. It would give Steve better access.

 

“Do you know how to do a Van Dyke? Cause I want a Van Dyke.”

 

“Yeah, I do, I’ve done it before.”

 

“You have?”

 

“Yeah, it didn’t er.. didn’t really work out that well.” Steve could still remember how badly he was teased for it by Bucky and Clint.

 

“Wouldn’t even, not with your jaw. You’d probably look better with like a full beard. But anyway, enough about you, don’t mess up my beard, I like my facial hair. It makes me look good.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ve shaved lots of times, most recently this morning.”

 

“Yeah, but you’re a clean shaven guy. You just take a razor and shave it all away. I don’t want that.”

 

“I already told you, I don’t always just shave it away. And I’ll do a good Van Dyke.”

 

“You better, if you make me regret this…”

 

“Then what?”

 

“I’ll give you a three hour lecture on integrated circuits.”

 

Steve lightly pushed at his shoulder and Tony followed resting back on the sink behind him. Steve stood between his legs, leaning so he was standing over the other man, who was looking at him strangely.

 

“Somehow, I’ve got a feeling that a lot of people would pay a fortune to hear you talk about those.”

 

“MIT does, doesn’t mean they aren’t boring.”

 

“Well, then I better not mess it up.” Steve replied as he bent down towards the right cheek and placed the electronic razor at the centre. He shaved a strip and followed all over that side, stopping only to rinse the razor. Carefully, he then shaved his jaw and neck, and he couldn’t help but appreciate how strong the other mans jawline was. It could probably cut paper.

 

He could feel Tony’s eyes over him the entire time, and when he moved to his left cheek, he looked down. The lighting in the bathroom was amazing, and he noticed for the first time, how _brown_ Tony’s eyes were, almost hazel.

 

“This is fine, isn’t it?”

 

“Ye- Yeah, it’s fine. Who knew you could be so gentle?”

 

“Well, you didn’t do a very good job the first time around. I’m just trying not to let that mistake repeat itself.”

 

“You really are the kind of guy who would care, aren’t you?” There was hint of shock and an undertone of….admiration, maybe, in his voice, that made Steve wonder if the man really was everything the media projected or was actually just _lonely?_

 

“I guess I am.” For the briefest moment, Steve thought he saw something in Tony’s eyes, unguardedness, maybe but it was gone as some as it had come.

 

“I’m always going to need help with this, aren’t I?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And every other thing too, right? I can’t even eat anything other than pizza and sandwiches, that’s pathetic, isn’t it?”

 

“No, it isn’t.”

 

“Yeah, it is. You don’t know what it’s like.” Steve signalled Tony to keep quiet as he started shaving the other side.

 

“All my life, I was small and picked on.” He could see the shock in Tony’s eyes from the corner of his eyes, and tried to focus on what he was doing instead. “We were poor and couldn’t afford much, I had a bad heart, terrible asthma and was probably the most picked on kid all through middle and high school. The point is, I get not being able to do things for yourself and the pain and more importantly the embarrassment that comes with it, but there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. It doesn’t make you a smaller person, it makes you a bigger one.” He said just as he was finished working with the razor and looked for a trimmer.

 

“Yeah well, not all of us can buff up like you.”

 

“That’s not what I meant.”

 

“Uh huh, so how did you get this big, what’s your secret?”

“I work out.”

 

“A lot, apparently. I mean, what are you even doing in my house Rogers, you could be a model.”

 

“I don’t want to be a model.”

 

“Unfortunate, magazines would pay you a fortune.”

 

“I doubt it. Anyway, you should be able get better with the therapy.”

 

“Oh come on, you were there at the session.”

 

He then replaced the razor in his hand with the trimmer on the counter and started shaping the hair around the mans mouth, which was extremely pink. When he was done, he used a wet hand towel to clean the area.

 

“Yes I was, but that only shows that there’s still a long while to go, not that it’s all hopeless. Be patient.” He said while opening a bottle of expensive herbal aftershave that he smeared over his hands.

 

He placed his hands over the other mans face. His skin was soft, with a slight rough edge to it, probably a result of age, but it gave him more character. He dragged his hands down his jawline and over his neck, and felt more than saw the other man shiver. He could feel his own hair standing on end as he rubbed the lotion over his Adam’s apple and the rest of his neck.

 

He had done this for a lot of people before, but he had never felt himself react this way before.

 

“It’s not my strong suit.”

 

“What?” His voice was rougher that he expected and he cleared his throat.

 

“Patience.”

 

“Yes, I’ve noticed. But, you’ll be fine.” He said stepping back, finally done with his job.

 

Tony was right.

 

Facial hair really did look good on him.

 

He looked far better than before.

 

Which was not something Steve was supposed to notice.

 

Steve decided not to dwell on it.

 

“And if I’m not?” The other man was now clearly avoiding Steve’s eyes.

 

“Then you’ll push through this. You don’t need to have the full use of your hand to be what you’ve always been.”

 

“A mass murderer and a war profiteer?” Now he tilted his head in a way that gave him a direct line of vision to Steve’s eyes. 

 

Steve felt a shiver go down his spine at the intensity with which Tony was looking at him and found himself unable to agree.

 

“No. Someone who’s determined. I was there right now during your session and if that’s the commitment you give to getting what you want, you’ll definitely get it.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Definitely.” Tony then got up to check himself in the mirror.

 

“Satisfied?” Steve asked after a few seconds.

 

“Wha- Oh yeah, it’s better than I expected. You’ll have to keep it trim from now on though.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Steve?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“There’s this thing people normally do, you know after someone’s helped them.”

 

“Thank them?”

 

“Yup, probably that. I’ll be in the lab. Bring me some food, something that doesn’t require a fork.”

 

“I - yes I will.” Steve said slightly shocked at Tony’s response, but not entirely offended.

 

Or even slightly offended.

* * *

 

“Here, look what I found.” Bucky said as he pushed papers over the table towards Steve.

 

“A scholarship form?” Steve had directly come over to Bucky and Sam’s place after work as Peter was spending the night on a sleepover with the Leeds.

 

“Yeah, for the art school at NYU.”

 

“Bucky..”

 

“No, just see it okay? It’s a fully paid scholarship by some dude named Thor.”

 

Steve looked up from the document he was scanning. “Thor?”

 

“Yeah, he’s some rich guy from Norway. His wife is a patron of art. So he set up a scholarship and you have to submit a portfolio to win it.”

 

Without his knowledge, his subconscious started piling together all ofthe previous work that he could use, there was sketch of his mom, one of the empire state. Unbidden Stark’s house came to mind, the place was a marvel of modern architecture and the natural light made it look beautiful, it would probably look radiant at sunrise.

 

And then, the man himself entered his mind. He could see him clearly, brown eyes framed by long lashes, the cleft on his nose, the sharp jaw, the slightly upturned lips surrounded by laugh lines, the curve of his-

 

“Steve? Steve?”

 

“What? Oh, uh sorry. I was thinking of what I could use in the portfolio.” Tony Stark would make a great-

 

Boss.

 

He was his boss, not his -

 

“Really? So you’ll do it?”

 

“I’m not sure. But, what about the day to day?”

 

“You get your job at the gym again. And you save up enough from this job to help on a rainy day. C’mon Stevie, I think it’s a good idea.”

 

“Where’s Sam?” Steve asked, a poorly disguised attempt at changing Bucky’s line of thought.

 

“He’s at the gym. It’s leg day.”

 

“Of course, and the world will end before Sam misses leg day.”

 

“This is what your mom would want.”

 

“Bucky…” Steve groaned, somewhat helplessly.

 

“She would, she thought your art could make a difference, and I agree. And I think you should get a chance to learn it better.”

 

“Fine, I’ll think about it.”

 

“Okay, good. Also, speaking of, how’s work?”

 

“It’s good, I’m sketching most of the time, and cooking, and you know, Stark is, he’s okay.”

 

“Not unbearable?”

 

“No, no, he’s pretty good. I’m pretty sure we’re making progress. He’s just, he’s so…”

 

“Infuriating?”

 

“No, he’s just…Tony. There’s no other way to describe him.”

 

“Oh, okay.” Bucky said with raised eyebrows.

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing, you wanna start on dinner?”

 

“What? We’re not making Wilson cook it?”

 

“I’m hungry, we’ll just make him cook dessert.”

 

“Alright, let’s go.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the shaving scene was okay, I'm sorry if I've done anything wrong, but I've never seen a man shave before so I didn't have much to go on.
> 
> Please let me know what you think about this chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
> 
> Also, does anyone know how to insert images here? I was trying to insert pictures of Steve and Tony but I was unable to.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Tony talk, and clear the air.
> 
> (Have you guys seen Captain Marvel? And the Endgame spot with Steve and Tony together is making me impatient for Endgame.)

_“How’d it go?”_

_“It would’ve gone better if you were there.”_

_“Uh - uh, you tell me to lay low, I lay low and you take care of all -“_

_“Hey, come on. In public, The press. This was a board of directors meeting.”_

_“This…This was a board of directors meeting?”_

_“The board is not going to rescind the injunction, it doesn’t want you back.”_

_“What?”_

_“They wanna lock you out.”_

_“Why? Cause the stocks dipped 40 points. We knew that was gonna happen.”_

_“Fifty six and a half.” That was Ms. Potts._

_“It doesn’t matter. We own the controlling interest in the company.”_

_“Tony, the board has rights too. They’re making the case that you and your new direction isn’t in the company’s best interest.”_

_“I’m being responsible. That’s a new direction for me; for the company. I mean, me on the company’s behalf being responsible for the way that…this..I...great.” There was a tone of resignation in his voice._

_“Oh come on. Tony. Tony.”_

_“I’ll be in the shop.”_

_“Hey. Hey! Hey, Tony. Listen. I’m trying to turn this thing around but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them. Let me have the engineers analyse the arc reactor. You know, draw up some specs.”_

_“No, no, absolutely not.”_

_That was the conversation that Steve had heard the first thing he’d gotten for work that morning, and he hadn’t seen Tony since then. Time to change that then._

* * *

 

“Tony.” Steve rapped on the door of the lab.

“Hey, dorito.” Stark greeted as he opened the door.

“You know, I have to say, you’re nicknames are getting worse, and by that I mean, they’re getting less mean.”

“Oh come on, I’ve only know you a week, and you’re basically an American boy scout, how am I supposed to insult you exactly?”

“There’s plenty of stuff you could use to insult me.”

“Let me guess, you’re here cause lunch is ready. I swear your a ‘30s housewife.”

“Actually, I was going to get a walk around the property and wanted to ask if you wanted to join.”

“It’s noon.”

“So, it’s the perfect spring day to be out in the afternoon. Besides, I think you’re getting paler by the day.”

“Was that supposed to be a joke Rogers?”

“No.” It’s concern. Steve wanted to say that out loud, but decided against it, he didn’t think Tony actually wanted to hear that out loud and would probably flat out refund if Steve did say it. But it seemed that there was no need for it, because Tony sighed heavily after a few moments.

“Fine, but not the whole property, it’s way too big.”

“More like you’re too old.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

“I heard that Rogers.” Tony said while shutting the door to his lab.

“Heard what?”

“That I’m too old.”

“I don’t think so. But I’m sure that you know better.” Steve said as he and Tony fell into step beside each other. “There’s no point staring at me.” He said, pointedly ignoring the other mans glare and walking ahead.

It really was the perfect day for a walk in the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly but not scorchingly so, and there was a slight breeze in the air that made walking comfortable.

“So, how’s your kid?”

“My nephew.”

“Right, what was his name? Patrick? Pietro?”

“Pietro works at the front desk in SI. My nephew’s name is Peter.”

“Right, Peter who is…”

“Seven.”

“Right. So what do you with the kid?”

“What do I with him? I raise him.”

“No, I mean, do you like, take him places or something? I don’t know what parents do with mini people.”

“Well, we did go to MoMA just last week. And he wants to go camping this summer, so we’ll probably do that.”

“Mmm..and what do you do when you’re not with Paul?”

“Pau- Peter.”

“Right, Peter.”

“I’m with Bucky most of the time.”

“Ah, so you do have a significant other.”

“No, Bucky’s my friend. He’s actually dating Sam.”

“Who’s Sam?”

“He’s a pararescue.”

“Wilson?” There was an evident look of surprise on Tony’s face.

“Yeah, you remember him?”

“Can’t forget the face of the man who saved my life.”

“No, you can’t. He’s the one who recommended me to colonel Rhodes for this job.”

“Ah, right Rhodey’s friends with him. And honestly, he doesn’t use that term lightly.”

“No, he doesn’t seem like the kind of man who would. So, how did you two become friends?”

“Right cause no one like Rhodey would want to be my friend, I know.”

“No, I’m sorry. It probably didn’t sound very right, did it? I only meant, you’re an engineer and he’s a military man. So how did you to meet? How’d you become friends?”

“Okay. Well, we met at MIT. I was there at 14, and would get picked on a lot, cause I was smaller and smarter. And this one time, I got into a huge fight with a guy much bigger than me andRhodey punched him for me.” Steve couldn’t help but chuckle to which Tony threw an affronted look at him.

“Sorry, I, that’s literally how Bucky and I became friends. Only we met in kindergarten. I was a really small kid and Bucky stood up for me.”

“You, in your hulking six feet and biceps. You were a small kid.”

“Yeah, I was! I was a really small kid. I was only able to do this after I turned fifteen.” Steve clarified, pointing towards himself.

“Puberty, huh?”

“Uh…not really. I um, I had a surgery when I was about fourteen.” Tony stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Steve.

“What surgery? Don’t tell me you let someone buff you up on steroids. Doesn’t sound very American.”

“Uh, no. I had a congenital heart defect. I got a transplant at fourteen.”

“Oh! Well, that makes more sense. So you probably know what it’s like to pop pills day in and out. How were you fit for the military?”

“I had a fully, properly functioning heart. And yeah, I do have pills, but a good doctor. So, he makes sure I need the minimal amount. Honestly, Dr. Erskine changed my life." Steve continued walking while Tony followed.

“Ah huh, so the first thing you did after a surgery was lock yourself in a gym.”

“Yes, and the first thing you did after coming back from captivity was to lock yourself in your lab.”

“Touche.”

“So, uh, I had a motive to bring you out here.”

“Killing me and taking all my money.”

“Yeah, it was really difficult to do inside the house, no opportunities.”

“JARVIS would inform the authorities immediately.”

“I could probably break your neck by then.”

“I’m a weapons manufacturer and I have a paralysing gun.”

“You do?” Steve asked as he stopped in his tracks.

“Yeah, plus more stuff.”

“Damn, I really have to come up with a better plan to kill you now.”

“Hmm…wow how sad. Imagine, having to start from scratch again.”

“Well, jokes aside,” Steve turned to fully face Tony, “I wanted to apologise to you.”

“For what? I’m the one who probably owes you like a hundred apologies. I’m worse than a petulant child.”

“No, trust me, you’re not.”

“Ah, Peter.”

“No, this kid Flash, he’s a kid in Pete’s class, you should see him. Anyway, I uh.. I had some very negative opinions about you.” Stark rolled his eyes before replying.

“And the sky is blue. Come on, everyone has negative opinions about me except Rhodey and Pep, probably Happy too, but that’s probably cause I pay him”.

“That doesn’t matter. I still had a bad opinion of you and that wasn’t right because I didn’t know you and without knowing you, I judged you. I had presumptions about you and I allowed that to cloud my judgement. When I see other people doing this, I think they're wrong and yet, I did the exact same thing to you.”

“Big deal.”

“It is, I was a hypocrite, I judged you before I met you and I was prejudiced against you. And that was wrong, I’m really sorry about it.”

“I - okay. That’s fine.”

Steve nodded, but couldn’t help but feel as if he wasn’t actually being forgiven.

“And I’m not sure how, but I’ll do everything I can to make it up to you.”

“Ugh, why are you this upstanding Rogers? Fine, you answer my question honestly and we’ll call it even”.

“Yeah, anything.”

“Why did you have a low opinion of me? Apart from the arrogance and the playboy image, I mean. And what brought about this change of heart?”

“Well, honestly it was never about any of that, I’ve fought in a war, and so has Bucky. Bucky who got captured by enemies and lost his arm. I worked with Dugan who still has PTSD and Peggy who was so hardened by the war, she was never the same again. And I think I just resented you, that you make a living out of this war staying here, and may even push for it, no please let me complete, while we all watched friends die out there on the battlefield.”

“It was never about making money Steve! It was always about protecting the country, the soldiers. That’s what dad did, and that’s what I set out to do. But, somewhere along the way, I think it just turned into one big arms race, one that I was winning, may I add. But when I was captured, I realised my weapons in the wrong hands were killing American lives, as well as innocent ones. So, trust me when I say that I’m not making weapons again.”

“I did realise that. That’s the reason I had a change of heart. “

“Okay. So, not gonna nag me about lunch, it’s almost 1.”

“Actually, I have learnt to pick my battles, and have decided to nag you about something else.”

“God, what is it now?” Tony said turning back towards the house.

“Well, I was thinking you should get out of the house for a little while.” Steve said, trailing after Tony.

“I did.”

“Your own property doesn’t count.”

“Yeah, it does.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Of course it does.”

“No, I was thinking more like a park…”

“There’s trees here, and I can always get people.”

“A theatre..”

“I have a home theatre, come on I’m gonna show it you.” Tony said turning around to face Steve. “It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before.” He then turned back to walk to the door.

“A restaurant?”

“You know,” Tony said coming to a stop, “I feel like you’re trying to take me out.”

“I am.”

Tony raised his eyebrows.

“Not like that.”

“Uh huh.”

“Just trying to make sure you’re not cooped up in here anymore.”

“If that’s your story.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Alright, fine, I know just the place.”


End file.
